ETSI postpones nano-SIM vote as battle rages on between Apple and Nokia

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute will not hold a vote today on a new nano-SIM standard, as two competing camps led by Apple and Nokia have not been able to come to terms.

The ETSI meeting started Thursday, and a vote was scheduled to be held Friday. But the participating companies have been unable to reach an agreement, and decided not to hold the vote, according to FOSS Patents.

ETSI rules now dictate that the vote must be postponed by a minimum of 30 days. That will give both Apple and Nokia at least another month to convince the other side to adopt their proposed nano-SIM standard.

The nano-SIM battle ratcheted up this week after Nokia said it would refuse to license its SIM patents if the ETSI chooses Apple's design. As many as 50 patent families owned by Nokia could be relevant to Apple's proposed nano-SIM design.

In an attempt to drum up support for its nano-SIM design, Apple earlier this week pledged royalty-free licensing of its nano-SIM design. But Nokia publicly panned Apple's offer, dismissing it as "an attempt to devalue the intellectual property of others."

Aligned with Nokia are Motorola Mobility and Research in Motion, who are concerned that Apple could own the patents related to design of the nano-SIM. They also believe that use of Apple's smaller SIM card would require a special "drawer" to protect the card.

Oberthur Technologies' nano-SIM prototype. | Source: The Verge

The nano-SIM standard aims to replace the MicroSIM card, which was originally pushed by Apple in 2010 with the launch of the iPhone 4. Apple's new nano-SIM would be a bout a third smaller than MicroSIM, allowing smartphone makers to potentially build even smaller devices.

Prior to the nano-SIM dispute, Apple was said to have been working on an embedded SIM design that would have allowed users to select a carrier and service plan directly from their iPhone. But Apple's plans allegedly upset carriers who felt they would be marginalized by an embedded SIM.

And so Apple abandoned those plans, and instead began talking with carriers about designing a smaller SIM card. As a result, most European carriers are in Apple's corner in the ETSI vote over the new nano-SIM standard.

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The nano-SIM standard aims to replace the MicroSIM card, which was originally pushed by Apple in 2010 with the launch of the iPhone 4. Apple's new nano-SIM would be a bout a third smaller than MicroSIM, allowing smartphone makers to potentially build even smaller devices...

30 days! ! I can't wait to have a nano-SIM and stop lugging those extra 2 mg around... /s

Just get rid of SIM cards -- but only if ALL CARRIERS (including pay as you go!) who offer wireless that is compatible with a given phone can enable their service with each device, and the other functions like transferring contacts are easily exportable as they are via SIM card today.

So this in now SIMgate with the 30-day delay. ETSI has never seen such excitement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreeRange

So what happens when you team up with MSFT? You do like Nokia, refuse to provide access to patents which in fact you are legally obligated to under FRAND agreements. Nice. Can you say "antitrust".

It sounds like Apple is saying that there design is free if all SIM patents are also free. That sounds like it's trying to get around paying FRAND fees. If so, then I don't think Nokia is in the wrong to protest... those the way they are doing sure does come across as petty.

Ah, frick. Hope that gets taken care of soon; I'd love to see this vote take place in time for a nano-SIM to be put into production in the 6th iPhone.

I think the 6th gen iPhone has been finalized for awhile now. Even if they could change the size of the SIM used there would be point because the space saved would not allow a re-shifting of the other components. The 4th gen iPhone would be the earliest and only that because the SIM card location doesn't seem to affect other components around it.

PS: Can't you ban that ZZZ guy? All he does it troll. He never adds to the conservation.

It sounds like Apple is saying that there design is free if all SIM patents are also free. That sounds like it's trying to get around paying FRAND fees. If so, then I don't think Nokia is in the wrong to protest... those the way they are doing sure does come across as petty.

No, Apple offered to make their nano-SIM free because Nokia and its cronnies were spreading FUD that if anyone voted for Apple's version that Apple would then "own" the new SIM standard and would use it to exert control over all other carriers with their licensing fees. You know, they were spreading rumor that Apple would act like they are now.

In response, Apple came out and stated that this was never their intent and to prove it they offered to basically give this for free to all parties interested as long as everyone else who owned patents on the SIM agreed to give theirs away for free as well.

To which Nokia and its cronies replied by whining that Apple is acting to devalue their precious IP.

What a bunch of hypocrites. They complain that Apple will exploit their patents for its personal gain and how unfair that is, then when Apple proves that isn't their intent they show their true colors and prove that all they wanted to do the whole time was exploit their patents for personal gain, you know the thing that they badmouthed Apple for wanting to do.

Of course, when the patents from their former days of innovation is all that they have that they can make any money on I guess they have to leverage it as much as possible. But their actions in this whole case shows that they really should spend a little money on PR because they are coming out of this looking terrible.